Julia Sercombe

Hometown: Geraldton, Western Australia

Where you live: Geraldton, Western Australia

How long have you been spearfishing?

From the age of 12 I use to follow dad around on the surface as he was spearfishing but was deterred from the sport as I use to get terribly seasick. I started spearfishing seriously again years later in February 2014 and fell in love from that first trip.

Top 3 places you have spearfished?

Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia. The Abrolhos Is. are located 30NM off the coast of Geraldton, which is predominately a Rock Lobster fishing community. The diving is amazing with such a diverse range of pelagic and reef species.

Great Barrier Reef, Cairns. My first trip to Cairns I was greeted with basically no wind and clear water with abundant fish life…. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Geraldton, WA. Our local reefs are reliable for producing large WA Dhu fish and are great for an afternoon or early morning dive.

First Fish.

7kg Kingfish. I was 14 and so stoked to have shot my first pelagic that I wrote an article and sent it into the International Spearfishing and Freediving magazine. Dad used it as burley… Sad times!

Top 3 fish landed.

5.65kg Buffalo Emperor. An elusive and handsome looking fish. I have the Australian Women’s Record, the best thing was all the boys on the boat didn’t think I’d get one then I blew them out of the water!

2.30kg Passionfruit Trout. Another elusive fish and another Australian Women’s Record. I landed this fish the same day as the Buffalo Emperor. I really had to use my hunting instincts to get this fish to which I succeeded and I was stoked.

23kg Spanish Mackerel. This was only the 4th Mackerel I had ever shot and I was absolutely stoked. It was a challenge to land and was a Western Australian State Record but unfortunately couldn’t claim it, but later claimed the record on another Mackerel.

What fish do you think about hunting the most?

When I know I’m going to dive locally I always think about shooting a massive WA Dhu fish but I quite often catch myself fanaticising about shooting a Dogtooth Tuna.

Top 3 dream fish not yet landed.

Dogtooth Tuna would be my first dream fish. The closest I have come to landing one is I put a spear through a small Doggie, which later reefed me and then got sharked. The challenge and difficulty is what makes them addictive, shooting is the easy part controlling them is the hardest!

Wahoo. I have never even seen one in the water before but like the Dogtooth they have incredible power but are very fragile, which can make them challenging to land.

Maori Sea Perch. They are a beautiful fish that can be quite elusive at times and it would be pretty cool to shoot one.

Biggest or Most Impressive fish or creature you have seen.

Just a few km’s off Geraldton we get very large Tiger Sharks. The biggest I have seen was about 13ft, a very intimidating and curious animal that started to become quite aggressive as another larger tiger about 12ft joined in on the fun.

Best dive trip you have been on?

In December 2014 I did a trip to Cairns to dive with my brother. It was just an unreal trip, the weather was magical and it’s where I shot my first Doggie, Buffalo Emperor, Passionfruit Trout and PB Green Jobfish. I was really fortunate to finish the trip with two new Australian Women Records. I’ll be returning soon that’s for sure!

Favourite gun.

105 Aimrite Super Venom Rollergun.

Scariest thing you’ve seen while diving.

I haven’t seen a great deal of things in the water that have really scared me, sharks aren’t a big deal to me but as a little girl following dad on the surface I remember feeling really scared and anxious when I couldn’t see him returning to the surface. Seconds felt like minutes while he was down there but as I frantically looked for him I would hear him calling out to me where he’d pop up 20m away or so.

Plans and goals for the coming year.

My biggest goal is to shoot my dream fish a Dogtooth Tuna. I can only imagine the adrenalin rush that will give me and I get excited about that. But I look forward to falling more and more in love with the sport and shooting some awesome fish with good friends. I have only been back spearfishing for a year now and I’m happy with how far I’ve come. Bring on 2015…

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